- Rocky and Edd Pushing their way through the now smokey corridor, Rocky and Edd soon arrived at the lift. As they waited, Edd's bionic eye adjusted to see heat signatures to compensate. That's when Edd saw the robbed figure for the first time, Rocky too busy with his flask. In the thick smoke, he relied on muscle memory to bring flask to his mouth. The rest would work itself out. "Hey Rocky. Did Boss Mamaroth say we had backup dis mission?" "No Edd, he conveniently forgot to mention that before sending us off to a frontline of oncoming Greenskins. But hey, no pressure." Rocky takes a sip. "Good thinkin' Rocky, but looks like someone's joinin' us ta da lodge." "Who? I can't see two feet in front of me." "A glowing red man." "Edd, are you looking with heat vision again? You know that's just going to make you vomit." "But et lets me see!" "You don't need to see to talk to someone Edd. Ask who it is, but I think I can guess." "O'right Rocky, I'll do dat. Excuse me, who are you? I'm Edd and dis es Rocky." "I'm sure he knows who we are Edd. We're the only Abhuman squad members aboard." "Still, ets polite." "That it is Edd, and so's reciprocating." Rocky says, glaring at where he thought the hooded figure was. He was completely off, but the intention was still there.
"The one in command of the PDF is Major Roderick, I'll patch him through right after we are finished here," the woman spoke in stern voice, like it was expected of a Governor ruling a distant world, out here in Segmentum Obscurus. "As for supplies, we shall give you everything we can. Just make a list and give it to the Major. Questions...we are not ones to despair and this is not the first time we saw the Orks. Niona will prevail, no matter what. So my only question is...how do you want us to die?" Perhaps a bit fatalistic, but nothing out of the ordinary. The Governor cut the channel and a new voice addressed Salamander, this one of a younger male. "This is Major Roderick, you asked for me, my Lord. How may I be of service?" "We are going in the old-fashioned way," Marmaroth grinned as he checked that everything was in place. Trophies, wolf pelt, lots of ammo and enough Orks to kill in a boarding action. "I applaud your commitment and dedication Librarian, but remember, if something goes wrong during our assault the mission comes first. You will find that pysker and we shall eliminate him. From there, you and me will make our way towards the Bridge while others will set up the charges. That is the mission before us. Now let us go to the hangar, I thirst for Greenskin blood." With that said, the Chaplain marched out of the armory and towards the bay, never looking back, not even for a second. With all those problems and accusations that were thrown on him, it was a good thing to fight a battle like this. Proper battle, no hidden enemies. Just Man versus Aliens. Black and white. Blood and Ruin. He spoke his next words, using the force-wide channel, his rage slowly building up and intended to fire the souls of those besides him. There shall be no tomorrow for the likes of Greenskins. "For past and future, For brothers new and old, For those dead and those that are still to feel our wrath, For ancient Terra and distant Cretacia, For the Emperor and Sanguinius!"
<Feron> "And I was told morale was low. " Musing to himself Feron momentarily tuned in to the force wide comms channel only to flip back to the link with major Roderick. "Greetings Major, I'll be having our Tech-priest patch a requisition form through to your men shortly, supplies for the repair and re-armament of our vessel that will need shipped off the moment we've a stable shipping lane. " Leaving that logistical bit of paper work to their cog-heads would do them far more favors than his own general request. "Secondly I need reports on movements both friendly and hostile, statuses on city defenses across the world and points of stress that might require relief if we find ourselves with spare enough forces. "
<Sirius Jules> "At least some mind in the Codex Astartes... Was about time that you took it's word more serious." The Apothecary said with a dirty grin behind his Diagnostor Helmet. In the end, the Codex would always prevail and be superior - and followed. One way or another, all Astartes honored it - even if they abide it, they follow it's rules. For it's rules lead to victory. Like it or not, but the Codex is a manual to victory by default, and Sirius as much as any other Son of Guilliman knew that. "At this point, my brethren. I also would enjoy to recite the opening paragraph of our beloved Codex." He started, closing his eyes as he imagined to open the book of the Warmaster the first time when he was not even a Neophyte, but a mere candidate as a child! Yet the words overwhelmed him and his little mind, flooding him with the image of perfect warriors, fighting in perfect wars. He trembled within the Power Armor as the same feeling as back then overcame him and he spoke the words as he read them in the most holiest books of all. OOC: Fun-Fact, that is actually a quote of the Codex Astartes. Source: Space Marines Codex, 6th Edition, page 246 - ebook edition.
"I hear and obey, Commander," affirms Draconion as he falls in with Marmaroth en route to the hangar. He listens in respectful silence as Marmaroth makes his inspirational speech. At its end, he makes the sign of Vulkan's Hammer across his chest with the rejoinder, "Into the Fires I go to burn them; Unto the Anvil I go to break them; Beneath the Hammer I shall smite them; Under my Boot I shall grind them; From their ashes, all shall be made anew; For the Emperor's sake, in Vulkan's name."
Amraphel walked towards the hangar in silence. He had no need of vainglorious battle chants or empty littanies to assure him of his purpose. All he needed was truth and purpose.... and a lot of weapond. The truth was that all the xenos would soon be dead, their purpose was to make it happen. On his way to the hangar he came across Draconion and Marmaroth and he decided to talk about some last details about the boarding parties deployment. "Draconion, Marmaroth, will we split up to kill the pyker and blow up the reactor at the same time, or do we kill the psyker first and blow the reactors up afterwards. Well and if we split up, do we do so inside the ship or do we launch directly at our target in seperate boarding crafts?"
"Roger that, my Lord. PDF troops are currently mainly focused on defending the Capitol, while parts of it are helping evacuate civilians from the Hunting Lodges and Fishing villages across the shore. Of course, we have troops stationed at every major city to assist the Guardsmen, however like I said, both me and my men are currently in Gea, waiting for that Orkish assault. I will relay reports of our troop movement whenever one occurs, be sure about it. As for the defenses, the Capitol is the only city with high enough walls to withstand a siege. Lumber camps are...well, series of lumber camps, New Buruni is just one big fishing town and city of Bor is currently being fortified, but originally it didn't offer much protection because the Mechanicum focused on building underground tunnels to find ore and whatnot, not really building outside defenses. Because, we were out here but our only enemies were occasional Ork raiding party that either got blown from sky by our orbital defenses or in rare occasions managed to drop on the ground, but only in really small numbers that didn't prove that difficult to deal with." "We are going in the same boarding ram, all together. Don't tell me you are afraid of dying earlier than intended?" Marmaroth grinned beneath his helmet as he made way to the hangar and inside the boarding craft. There was a subtle change in the air around the man, as if he was finally...happy. No more trouble in his voice, only certainty. ............. Like any battle preparation, it went as fast as possible. Valkyries were loaded with Stormtroopers, as well as cargo ships which were ordered to carry personnel and equipment to both the mining city and hunting grounds. Under the watchful gaze of Commissar Strauss and Commander Feron, everything was done in less than an hour. "Angelfall" entered the range of possible deployment after next 15 minutes and everything changed as the (former) troops of the Inquisition launched towards the green planet of Niona... <Air Support, en route to Kordoba - Volorox, Gaius, Dorallius, Kajar> Endless see of trees. That was the first impression they got from reaching the lower atmosphere. Tall trees and occasional hill here and there was everything Niona was. "No wonder why the Imperium got their hands on this world," Gaius mused as he acted as the leader of the squadron, "Records show that humans settled it only couple of hundred years ago, so I guess that's why we see all this greenery. Guess it'll change soon enough." Setting a course towards the lumber camps, it would still take them some time before they reach it, time they could spend for final preparations. <Lumber Camps of Kordoba - Tempestus & Angelous> The walker and the Techmarine came down quite fast, using a drop pod tactics. They landed somewhere in the clearing next to a big camp filled with various troopers, both from Penal Legion and PDF. They were in the process of creating makeshift barricades, trenches and traps around giant machines that were used to chop the wood as well as various buildings that were located in this small complex. At the sight of the Venerable Dreadnough, many humans grew scared, not accustomed to seeing Space Marines, yet alone this huge walker. One of the Guardsmen eventually approached them, a woman in her early forties. "Greetings Lords, I was told to expect you. My name is Valeria Sintz, Captain of the 655th Penal Legion. Our scouts have sighted the Orks approaching through the western forest. Estimated time until they got here is couple of hours. What are your orders?" At the same time, another of the transports arrived and unloaded the rest of the Inquisitorial force consisted of 20 Stormtroopers and 2 Chimeras to serve as backup. That was everything Tempestus had at the moment to defend this camp. <Mining City Bor - Sitri, Jean, Steinar + Fenix> The cargo ship landed and unloaded their newly fitted Land Raider, as well as contingent of 50 Stormtroopers as well as their Chimera transports. The city itself was at the end of a small valley, surrounded by cliffs and forest. The land before it was cleared of any trees and filled with dead drops, barbed wire and various bunkers manned by Guardsmen equipped with heavy weapons. There was also a makeshift wall made of wood (tall palisade) surrounding the city and protecting the vital buildings and the mining shafts behind. Now, it was buzzing with soldiers as the men of the 655th prepared for defense. They were also approached by a command Chimera, a rather rugged looking officer gave a salute at the sight of the big tank. "General Peters at your service. I received word from Lord Feron from orbit that we are to hold this city no matter what. Please, place your vehicles in line with ours next to the wall," they seeing couple of Leman Russ tanks as well as multitude of Chimeras. "Also, I prepared a group of soldiers accustomed to guerilla fighting, like ordered. They are waiting for Lord Fenix inside of the city. Orks will arrive soon, so is there anything you wish of me?" <Hunting Lodges - Edd, Rocky, Sigismund> Perhaps most "relaxed" was the landing of this part of Marmaroth's force. Their craft dropped them in the middle of a beautiful mountain forest, the smell of nature that was almost impossible to find in the Imperium of today was present here. Mountain creeks filled with fish while various wild animals ran away at the sight of their transports. It looked so peaceful that it was almost unreal. Their reverie was broken once they saw a group of buggies and small trucks going down the road, thankfully filled with humans. "Greetings friends!" one burly man approached them as soon as the lead buggy stopped, they seeing it was filled with various civilians, but most of them male and looking quite hardy. The man that approached them was almost big as Edd, with a long beard and dressed in hard leather clothing. He carried a hunting rifle slung across his wide shoulders while a small hatchet was at his belt. "I'm Dave and you must be the Inquisition? Good that finally someone showed up, I thought everyone forgot about us. We are in a dire situation really, still no Orks around but lots of tracks suggest they are in the country, in the neighborhood, if you get me, eh? But they say we drank a lot and are seeing things. Perhaps they are right 'bout the drinkin', but when Dave says something, it sure hell is the truth!" OOC imagine surrounding is something like this, perhaps a bit more forest (yeah I made the pic myself ) <Boarding Action - Marmaroth, Sirius, Draconion, Amraphel, Icelos> As for the boarding action, it went extremely good. As soon as they were finished with the unloading ground troops, "Angelfall" turned to face its attackers. First of the Kroozas exploded once hit by a lance barrage from the front weapons, it getting torn asunder. But as such things go, this Ork Captain was inexperienced, more eager one and he and his crew payed the ultimate price. Of course, others weren't that stupid to run straight into Heavy Cruiser's mighty guns and the real battle began. A number of boarding rams were launched from both sides and the great number of them were destroyed by anti-air guns. However, a number of them passed through and soon, Marmaroth and his squad found themselves somewhere in the upper decks of the starboard side of the enemy Krooza. Chaplain was the first one through the breach, his intention to soak up the fire of the defenders if needed, thus protecting his squad mates who didn't have the luxury of fielding a Terminator Armor. However, the corridor was empty, filled with various wires and other junk, customary for Orkish term "technology". "The generator should be somewhere below us so lets go. Draconion, try to find our target in the meantime so we can adjust if needed," he spoke as he began marching, eager to kill some alien. "Let us not be rude and disappoint our hosts. To war Brothers, the Emperor is watching." <Angelfall - Feron, Jannika, Strauss> From his command position on the Bridge, Salamander received couple of reports and confirmations that Orks managed to successfully board his ship, mostly hitting the hangars area. Commissar Strauss sent word that he and his men are closing in on the position and will deal with the intruders shortly. So other than that and the impact of enemy guns on "Angelfall's" blessed hull, Feron suffered no further interruptions.
@Colapse Barrelling out from the boarding ram, boarding shield held at the ready with flamer in the firing embrasure, Draconion finds himself rather disappointed at the lack of a welcoming committee. Nevertheless, he moves to take a place on Mamaroth's flank, maintaining classic Fires-of-Battle tactical movement as he peers from the viewing slot of his boarding shield. To Marmaroth's words, he replies, "Aye, Commander. I will seek him out now." Turning his focus inwards, he opens his mind to the roiling currents of the Warp, just enough to listen in on the violent psychic activity of the Waagh!-dominated psychosphere while withdrawing his own presence therefrom as much as possible - a psychic equivalent of passive sensor telemetry. Straining his subtle senses, he plumbs the locale for a telltale knot of whirling power, coloured by the untiring violence and lust for life that characterises all Ork-kind.
Amraphel was second to enter the corridor of the primitive pile of rubble the Orks call a ship. He quickly assesed the surroundings and concluded that the area arround them was free of foes, but nevertheless he kept his guard up at all times, ready for any ork defenders. Amraphel watched the teams back, while staying in the formation. His experience had made him cynical and he always expected the worst, so he was pretty sceptic about the lack of defenders, even orks couldn't be that careless. Whatever the case, it didn't matter, this ship would be a burning wreck soon and they would make it happen, and so he went on, always holding his boarding shield in a protective stance.
<Mining City Bor - Sitri, Jean, Steinar + Fenix> <Steinar Greywold> The giant of a Space Wolf simply approached the man on foot, caring little for tanks, he blew some up, lost his arm, got it re-attached - that is what he thought of tanks, horrible warriors and cowards too. "Guerilla, where?" He inquired, his voice surprisingly soft for a man of his statue and for a Space Wolf, and for Steinar, too. Cold and calculating had his voice become. The calm before the storm. <Sitri> "Roger roger. Taking position." The Driver of the mighty Land Raider replied happily as the mighty machine moved, despite the loss of the prior Predator, the Lord of Destruction had been blessed with an even bigger tank, certain a good omen. <Boarding Action - Marmaroth, Sirius, Draconion, Amraphel, Icelos> <Sirius Jules> As Apothecary and long-time friend he took position behind Marmaroth and Amraphelwith Durandal and his Boarding Shield. Wielding it like a Son of Guilliman, revving it a few times to motivate the Machine Spirit of the motorized blade. "Don't let me get grabbed by Tau this time." The Medic-at-War ordered his squad lead.
